Radical Atheist

Why does the Religious Right demand that only abstinence should be taught to teenagers when according to their own Christian mythology Jesus was born of a girl who practiced abstinence. A whole lot of good it did her.

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I dare any adherent of any other religion, especially those based on the divinity of Jesus, to provide a doctrinally sound reason why this religious belief is false while your particular interpretation is valid.

I might be willing to consider the claims made by this Cheesus impersonator, but my brain damage isn’t that extensive just yet.  Give it time.  I’ll have a plastic statue of him on the dashboard of my car by the time I’m 80.

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A Missouri woman says she has found Jesus in a bag of Cheetos. When Kelly Ramey opened a snack-sized bag of Cheetos, she felt something unusual and checked it out.

Most of her family and friends believe it looks like a mini orange sculpture of Jesus on the cross. Ramey and her husband call it “Cheesus.” Others see something completely different.

A local minister does not see anything theologically special about the Cheeto, but thinks some good could come from it.

Ramey doesn’t plan to sell the Cheeto because it’s bringing a lot of joy into her home. She will keep it in a safe deposit box or put it on display so more people can enjoy it.  (Source)

These sightings are a perfect example of the role wishful thinking plays in religious belief.  People see what they want to see.  Reality viewed through the faith-filter.

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Saint Peter is watching the gates of Heaven, but he really has to go to the bathroom. He asks Jesus to watch the gates for a few minutes, and Jesus agrees.

As Jesus is standing there, he sees an old man leading a donkey up from Earth to Heaven. He notices the old man has carpenter’s tools with him. When the old man gets to the gates, Jesus asks him to describe his life and explain why he feels he should be admitted into Heaven.

The man explains, “In English, my name would be Joseph, but I didn’t live in America or England. I lived a modest life, making things out of wood. I’m not remembered very well by most people, but almost everyone has heard of my son. I call him my son, but I was more of a Dad to him — he really didn’t come into this world in the usual way.

I sent my son out to be among the people of the World. He was ridiculed by many, and was even known to associate himself with some pretty unsavoury characters, although he himself tried to be honest and perfect. My single biggest reason for trying to get into Heaven is to be re-united with my son.”

Jesus is awe-struck by the man’s story. He looks into the old man’s eyes and asks, “Father?”

The old man’s face brightens; he looks at Jesus, and asks, “Pinocchio?”

(This joke’s been around for a while but it never fails to make me chuckle. It also brings to mind a real situation. If you study history you’ll notice that all the elements in the story of Jesus are similar to the elements in other god-man stories. His history isn’t unique.)

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There’s a debate going on in a forum I belong to regarding Jesus as a man, an ordinary human, and whether or not he existed.

I contend it’s not an important part of my atheism to know whether or not he is a fictional or factual historical figure. All I nned to know is that no one has been able to support the idea that he was a god.

So I received this reply recently:

if you’re going to try to show Christians inconsistancies in their religion, then why not go for the only one that matters: the idea that they think there was a Jesus who in reality never existed?

To which I replied:

The reason I won’t bother trying to “prove” Jesus never existed as a man is that, with the historical record being incomplete and heavily adulterated by the early church, there is no definitive proof one way or the other. All you can do is present more likely scenarios than the Christians. I’ve seen your evidence and while it’s compelling, it’s not convincing. Supposition is not proof, no matter how logical.

Another reason I don’t bother is that Jesus’ existence as a man is not important to Christian faith. It’s his having supposedly been a god that they base their religion on. Debunking the idea that gods exist makes the issue of Jesus having once existed as a man or whether the Pope is god’s ambassador on Earth irrelevant. Atheism extends further than just a disbelief in the Christian theology. Debunk Jesus and the Christian becomes a Jew. Debunk gods and a Christian sees that all religions are nonsensical.

So what’s your opinion? Is it necessary to debunk the idea that Jesus existed as a man to discredit Christianity, or is it a hopeless cause and unimportant to explaining atheism to theists?

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A cosmetics line that extolled the virtues of “Lookin’ Good for Jesus” has been pulled from stores in Singapore after a number of complaints from shoppers, according to media reports Tuesday.

Promising to “Redeem your reputation and more,” the product line included a “virtuous vanilla”-flavored lip balm and a “Get Tight with Christ” hand and body cream, The Straits Times said.

Wing Tai Retail, which manages the British retailer Topshop, removed the line late last month after receiving complaints.

“These products trivialize Jesus Christ and Christianity,” it quoted Nick Chui, 27, one of the complainants, as saying. “There are also sexual innuendoes in the messages and the way Jesus is portrayed in these products.”

One product has packaging with the image of Jesus wearing a bright white robe as he looks toward the heavens, while a heavily made-up blonde woman with an arm draped across his shoulder gazes dreamily at his face.

“Why would anyone use religious figures to promote vanity products? It’s very disrespectful and distasteful,” the report quoted 24-year-old accountant Grace Ong as saying.  (Source)

What accounts for the recent increase in incidents of religious whining about respect?  Muslims get offended by cartoons while Christians take offense at a line of tacky cosmetics.

Read the Koran or Bible and highlight all the humorous passages, all the scriptures that indicate the gods or their followers have a sense of humor or even a healthy self-image.  You’ll be reading a lot and highlighting nothing.  Believers may have the light of fanaticism in their eyes but you’ll be hard pressed to find one with a twinkle of wit.  Considering how comical religious beliefs are, it’s too bad the religious lack the ability to appreciate that.

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